Cigarettes with tax stamps arrive

Business Bureau, Gulf Today

A new shipment of cigarette packets marked with the Digital Tax Stamps approved by the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has made it to Dubai. The Stamps will be electronically tracked to ensure Excise Tax due on tobacco products has been settled.

In a press statement issued on Saturday, the Authority explained that it had finalised procedures for delivering the new shipment in collaboration with Dubai Customs to sell in local markets, noting that as of January 1, 2019, the FTA-approved Digital Tax Stamps were made available to order from the system operator and be placed on cigarette packs before they leave the manufacturing facility to hit local markets. FTA Director General Khalid Ali Al Bustani asserted that collaborating with government and private-sector partners allowed the Authority to successfully implement the Marking Tobacco and Tobacco Products Scheme, according to the timeline the FTA had set, as per Cabinet Decision No. (42) of 2018 on Marking Tobacco and Tobacco Products. He noted that FTA Decision No. (3) of 2018 specified the dates that the Digital Tax Stamps would be available in the UAE, as well as the criteria for storing them.

The Decision went into effect on January 1, 2019, and applies to the cigarettes. Al Bustani explained that the Scheme is mandatory for the cigarettes – imported or locally produced and traded – and will be gradually expanded to cover all tobacco products, electronically tracking them from the production facility and until they reach the final consumer to ensure full compliance with Excise Tax obligations on tobacco and tobacco products. The Scheme establishes an accurate, effective and comprehensive regulatory framework to support the Authority’s efforts to collect taxes, combat tax evasion, and implement standard procedures to guarantee the rights and obligations of all Taxable Persons and ensure transparency in all procedures governing their dealings with the Authority.